Who Is Asmir Begovic?

At just 17 years of age, he was the youngest goalkeeper in Dale Mitchell's Under-20 Canadian squad for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

He watched and learned from Josh Wagenaar, who was Canada's undisputed No. 1 throughout the tournament.

Two years later, Begovic started all three of Canada's FIFA U-20 World Cup [1] games, but didn't receive a mention as an "outstanding player" by FIFA's technical study group [2].

Despite ruling out the idea of representing his country of birth (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Asmir did a 180 and bailed on Canada in 2009. Several months earlier, highly rated American youth international Neven Subotić pledged his allegiance to Serbia.

Aided by a dogged and rugged back line, Begovic has risen to elite status for Stoke City since signing from Portsmouth for £3.25 million.

Manchester United

Unless Asmir Begovic wants to be a No. 2, why would he even entertain the idea of going to Manchester United?

He isn't on the same level as David de Gea, whose save percentage numbers (81.9 to Begovic's 72.9) and shots saved per goal conceded numbers (3.9 to Begovic's 2.5) are substantially better.

Being three years younger than Asmir, David's potential is also higher, so it would be foolhardy for the Bosnian to think he could realistically oust DDG.

United reportedly sent scouts to watch Begovic versus Greece (via James Dickenson at The Express), but it's not inconceivable that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted more information on the likes of Ognjen Vranjes, Adnan Zahirović and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.